Scottish Executive

Aggregates

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how much revenue from the aggregates levy will be passed to it for spending; what this revenue will be used for; what mechanism will be used to distribute funds and if no decisions on administration of the revenue have been made, when they will be.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish a sustainability fund similar to that planned by Her Majesty's Government for England and Wales and (a) what type of projects will be funded, (b) whether the fund will be public or private and (c) what the rules on match-funding under the fund and the eligibility criteria for funding will be.

Ross Finnie: The Assigned Budget will receive approximately £3 million per year from 2002-03, as part of the allocation by the Treasury of the proceeds of the aggregates levy. Ministers have decided to allocate this to the environment portfolio and decisions on how to distribute the monies will be made soon.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Environment and Rural Development to the Parliament on 21 March 2002, Official Report , col. 10615, whether the proposals for the Scottish Agricultural College, Auchincruive will be submitted in any form for independent assessment or audit and, if so, who will carry out this assessment or audit; with which "major stakeholders" the college will consult and whether it will ensure that this includes representatives from the college students, the local National Farmers Union Scotland and the campaign to retain the college; what it meant by the "range of options that are open to the SAC", and whether it will specify these options.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a detailed breakdown of the estimated £20 million cost of a new campus for the Scottish Agricultural College in Paisley and a move to Aberdeen; whether it is satisfied that these costings are accurate; whether the costings have been submitted for analysis or assessment and, if so, to whom.

Allan Wilson: The member is probably aware that the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) has agreed to conduct a review of its future functions and objectives, in consultation with its key stakeholders. I would expect representatives of the groups to which the member refers to be invited to participate in the consultation process.

  Following this piece of work, the SAC will examine options - for all of its three campuses - about how it might restructure itself to be able to meet these objectives, prior to putting their conclusions to ministers for consideration. In advance of this work being taken forward, it is not possible to say at this stage what options will emerge for consideration or to comment on any individual one.

  The SAC will be using external consultants to help it with these major initiatives. The consultants will bring an independent line of thought to bear.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail each venture written off as a "failed joint venture" as referred to in the director's report on the Scottish Agriculture College (SAC), setting out the reason why each failed and the amount of money that was written off as a result.

Allan Wilson: The director's report to the Scottish Agricultural Group Accounts, for the year to 31 March 2001, refers to joint ventures that were entered into by SAC Commercial Ltd - the commercial arm of the SAC group. This company is not grant aided by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. In the circumstances, the member might wish to approach the SAC for the information he is seeking.

Alcohol Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) males and (b) females suffered from chronic alcohol dependency in each of the past 10 years.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Information on the number of people suffering from chronic alcohol dependency is not held centrally. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey of psychiatric morbidity among adults in private households in 2000 does provide information on the number of people estimated to have mild, moderate or severe dependence on alcohol. The following table gives figures from the survey:

  Prevalence of Alcohol Dependence in Private Households in Scotland in 2000

  


Rate per thousand population aged 16-74




Women




No dependence


961




Mild dependence


39




Moderate dependence


1




Severe dependence


2




Men




No dependence


868




Mild dependence


117




Moderate dependence


13




Severe dependence


1




  Source: Psychiatric Morbidity in Private Households, 2000, ONS.

Ambulance Service

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to upgrade the Balfron ambulance station in West Stirlingshire so that it provides round the clock 24-hour cover, and if so, when any such plans will be implemented.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Ambulance Service has made provision for the conversion of the ambulance station in Balfron from part-time to full-time working in the financial year 2003-04.

Ambulance Service

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to upgrade the ambulance stations in Callander and Killin in Perthshire so that they provide 24-hour cover, and if so, when any such plans will be implemented.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Ambulance Service has no plans at present to convert the ambulance stations in Callander and Killin from part-time to full-time working.

Ambulance Service

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its news release SEHD012/2002 on 16 April 2002, how the priority based dispatch system will affect the Scottish Ambulance Service in the Forth Valley.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Forth Valley area will become one of the first areas of Scotland to receive the benefits of priority based dispatch. The relevant call categorisation and call handling software is due to come online in the Scottish Ambulance Service's Edinburgh Control Room in the autumn. This will support the implementation of priority based dispatch into the Forth Valley area, as well as into Lothian, Borders, Tayside and Fife.

Ambulance Service

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring is undertaken of ambulance response times in Angus.

Malcolm Chisholm: Demand levels and response times across the East Central Ambulance Division, which covers the Angus area, are reported twice daily. This in turn supports weekly monitoring information that is used for performance management purposes by officers from ambulance station level through to divisional managers, national headquarters and the health department.

Asylum Seekers

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what work has been done to identify the local and national implications of the potential asylum seekers' centre at RAF Turnhouse.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive is engaged in regular and continuing dialogue with the Home Office about their proposals for establishing accommodation centres and the implications which any decision to site such a centre in Scotland would have for devolved services. The Nationality Immigration and Asylum Bill, currently before the UK Parliament, includes a provision which would require the UK Government to consult Scottish ministers before any decision was reached to site an accommodation centre in Scotland.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it was informed that the facility at Dungavel House had been reclassified from being an asylum seeker detention centre to being an immigration removal centre and what the implications of this change are for the Executive and for the local authority.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive has been informed that the facility at Dungavel House will become an immigration removal centre in November. This has no other implications for the Executive or local authorities.

Care of Elderly People

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any patient who meets the assessment criteria for free personal and nursing care will be cared for by the NHS.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are currently set in the NHS for assessing entitlement and access to long-term care for elderly people.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the NHS will receive additional funding for free personal and nursing care for the elderly where a patient's assessment fits the prescribed criteria.

Hugh Henry: The purpose of a needs assessment is to determine the requirement for social care for an individual. This is linked to the provision of services by, or for, local authorities under social work legislation, not to services provided by the NHS. The extension of free personal and nursing care only applies to those who currently pay for, or towards, such care in community settings (e.g. in a care home or in their own home). All NHS care is provided free at the point of delivery already and is not affected by the introduction of free personal and nursing care which only applies outside an NHS setting. There is therefore no requirement for additional funding for the NHS as a consequence of the introduction of this policy.

Central Heating

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W- 21535 by Iain Gray on 28 January 2002, how many central heating systems had been installed at 31 March 2002 under its central heating installation programme in the (a) private and (b) social rented sector.

Iain Gray: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24437 on 22 April 2002.

Central Heating

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many central heating systems have been installed so far under its central heating installation programme in each local authority area actively considering whole housing stock transfer.

Iain Gray: One thousand, three hundred and fifty-two  central heating systems have been installed in houses owned by Glasgow Council, whose tenants have now voted in favour of stock transfer. 28 systems have been installed in stock owned by Argyll and Bute Council and 28 in Shetland. Both of these councils are actively considering whole housing stock transfer. The other three councils considering stock transfer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders and Western Isles, have central heating in all their houses and so are not taking part in the central heating programme.

Childcare

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in order to encourage the provision of full-time nursery places for the children of working parents.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive is providing £16.75 million of Childcare Strategy funding, in the current year, to local authorities to deliver affordable, accessible, good quality childcare, including full-time nursery places, to meet the local childcare needs of working parents.

Childcare

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time nursery places currently exist for the children of working parents and how many such places there were in (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01.

Cathy Jamieson: The total number of children aged three to four in 10 half day sessions of pre-school education a week was 5,683 in 1999-2000 and 12,782 in January 2001. The data collected does not take account of the employment status of the parents.

Childcare

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many childminders are currently registered and how many childminders were registered in (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01.

Cathy Jamieson: Information on the number of childminders registered in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 was collected by each local authority and was not held centrally.

  From 1 April 2002, the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care has had responsibility for registering childminders. Information on the number of childminders currently registered is a matter for the Care Commission.

Childcare

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage people to register as childminders.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive is providing £16.75 million of Childcare Strategy funding in the current year to local authorities to deliver affordable, accessible, good quality childcare, including childminding provision, to meet the local childcare needs of working parents.

Coronary Heart Disease

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Public Health Institute has a remit on tackling coronary heart disease and, if so, what programmes it has developed.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Public Health Institute for Scotland's remit extends to the creation of a Scotland wide learning network of practitioners, academics and decision makers around the topic of heart health. The functions of this network will be:

  To sift, analyse and share the existing national and international evidence base.

  To collate and analyse existing practice and share lessons.

  To support local policy-makers and practitioners to translate policy priorities into strategic action.

  To inform plans for dissemination and roll-out of lessons learned from the demonstration projects and identified areas of good practice.

  To identify implications for future practice and put forward relevant strategies/plans.

  A co-ordinator for the network has recently been appointed and will take up post on 1 May.

Coronary Heart Disease

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23297 by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 March 2002, what plans it has to collate information centrally on the use of statins, given that they are the drugs of first choice in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network Guideline 40 on Lipids and the Primary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease and that their prescription is one of the essential criteria in the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland's standards for secondary prevention following an acute myocardial infarction.

Malcolm Chisholm: Data on the prescribing of statins will be included in the National Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) database, as the data will be generated by routine patient management. Information about the database will be given in the CHD and Stroke Strategy for Scotland, which we expect to publish in the early summer.

Council Tax

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assumption it made of the rate at which council tax charges may rise in each local authority area, expressed as an annual percentage increase, when calculating their grant aided expenditure allocations for (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04 and (c) 2004-05.

Peter Peacock: No specific assumptions are made about annual changes in council tax levels for individual local authorities in calculating the general grant allocations. Allocations for 2004-05 have not yet been set.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13449 by Colin Boyd QC on 1 March 2001, how many cases were marked "no proceedings" in respect of each category recognised by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service computer in (a) 1998-99, (b) 1999-2000, (c) 2000-01 and (d) 2001-02.

Colin Boyd QC: The figures are shown in the following table. The figure for time barred cases in 2000-01 is slightly smaller than that given in answer to S1W-16140 on 15 June 2001 because that answer was given before the figures for that year had been finally reconciled.

  


No Proceedings


1998-99


1999-2000


2000-01


2001-02 (11 months)




Insufficient Admissible Evidence


12,305


12,786


12,257


9,932




Trivial


10,996


11,539


10,487


9,956




Civil Remedy More Appropriate


3,866


3,159


2,550


1,925




Mitigating Circumstances


3,119


2,383


2,266


1,765




Delay Police/ Reporting Agency


2,731


6,087


4,114


5,316




Delay by PF


205


92


368


451




Lack of Court Resources


3


3


3,770


7




PF Staff Shortage


99


3


1


3




Time-bar


1,278


1,533


1,976


1,867




Not a Crime


816


778


701


927




No Jurisdiction


106


103


151


100




Age of Offence


354


485


1,233


1,207




Other Specified Reason


4,714


5,007


4,106


5,888




Total No Proceedings


40,592


43,958


43,980


39,344

Dental Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24216 by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 April 2002, why more recent information than that of 30 September 2000 regarding the number of consultant vacancies in oral surgery is not available.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: ISD Scotland is currently completing the collection of vacancy data from across NHSScotland and carrying out the required quality assurance checks on it. Provisional Scotland-wide data for September 2001 will be available by July at the latest.

Drug Misuse

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22150 by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 February 2002 on the availability of drugs to clinicians, whether Capecitabine for metastatic colorectal cancer has been approved by the Area Drugs and Therapeutics Committee for West Glasgow Hospitals.

Malcolm Chisholm: Local management confirm that the Greater Glasgow Area Drug and Therapeutics Committee has approved the use of Capecitabine for metastatic colorectal cancer. The use of this treatment for individual patients depends on the clinical judgement of the specialists concerned.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to increase drug misuse awareness amongst parents, families and others to ensure more support can be given in the early stages to people taking drugs.

Dr Richard Simpson: As part of our Drugs Communications Strategy, national mass media campaigns are already under way, using the Know The Score logo, to raise awareness about drugs and where help and advice can be obtained.

  The Executive has allocated £20 million over three years, through the Changing Children's Services Fund, for drugs projects tailored towards children, including those whose parents misuse drugs. A further £2 million, also over a three-year period, has been allocated to the Lloyds TSB Foundation to support vulnerable children and young people affected by drug misuse. We also intend to produce a report later this year on effective practice for family support, and this work includes dialogue with the families of drug misusers.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients with drug or alcohol dependency are currently participating in clinical trials.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available centrally.

  Information on conducting clinical trials can be found on the Medicines Control Agency website at:

  www.mca.gov.uk.

Drug Misuse

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure the provision of specialist drug misuse services within the Lochaber area.

Dr Richard Simpson: The Executive has allocated additional resources of over £380,000 for treatment and £831,000 for the rehabilitation of drug misusers in the Highland area for the period 2001-02 to 2003-04. Responsibility for how these and existing resources are spent rests with the local Drug and Alcohol Strategy Group and its constituent agencies, taking into account local circumstances and needs.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proven effective treatments are available to treat cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis addictions.

Dr Richard Simpson: There is a lack of good evidence to support substitute prescribing for cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis misuse. Prescription of tranquillisers, such as diazepam, can ease the symptoms of withdrawal from psychostimulants, including sleep disturbance and anxiety. Psychological interventions, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, and psychosocial interventions, such as relapse prevention, can also play an important role, either in conjunction with symptomatic relief, or as stand alone treatments. Psychosocial interventions and counselling are also used to help treat cannabis dependence.

  Drop-in facilities, peer support, family support and complementary therapies, such as acupuncture, can also be useful in helping psychostimulant misusers.

  A working group of the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse is reviewing the available evidence on best practice in prevention of psychostimulant misuse, and service provision for misusers. Evidence based on the findings of the working group will be issued later this year to those who plan and deliver drugs services.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24233 by Nicol Stephen on 3 April 2002, why its Education Department does not hold detailed information on the circular documents or other mailings it produces for distribution to primary and secondary schools.

Nicol Stephen: Written material issued by the Scottish Executive can take a number of forms and is issued from a number of areas within the Executive. Central logging of this written material is not undertaken, and a comprehensive answer could not therefore be provided to question S1W-24233.

Elections

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is unnecessary for Stirling Council to maintain a marked register of all those who voted in the Teith Ward by-election held on 18 April 2002.

Peter Peacock: A marked register is used to show that ballot papers have been issued to a voter in person at the polling station. The by-election in the Teith ward was conducted as an election pilot under section 5 of the Scottish Local Government (Elections) Act 2002, and was conducted by an all-postal ballot. All registered voters were issued with a ballot paper by post and therefore a marked register was not used. The pilot resulted in a 63.2% turnout, an increase of 20% over the previous by-election. Evaluation studies are being carried out by both Stirling Council and the Electoral Commission.

Employment

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22331 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 8 February 2002, what impact its employment initiatives have had on the claimant unemployment rate in Glasgow Kelvin since May 1999.

Ms Wendy Alexander: UK Government and Scottish Executive employment initiatives in Glasgow Kelvin include the New Deal programmes, the Glasgow Employment Zone and Training for Work. It is not possible to completely separate the impact of these initiatives on unemployment since May 1999, from the effects of improved economic conditions over the period. However, claimant unemployment in Glasgow Kelvin fell by 11% between May 1999 and March 2002.

Environment

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive why approval for the proposed scientific trial into the reintroduction of the European beaver in Scotland has not been given and on what date any such approval will be given.

Allan Wilson: Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has been developing proposals for a trial re-introduction of the European beaver to Scotland for seven years. In January 2002 an application was submitted to the Executive for a licence to release, following importation and quarantine, a number of beavers in Forest Enterprise land at Knapdale, Argyll.

  The SNH proposal raises many questions and it is premature to speculate on when a final decision on SNH's application might be taken. In giving careful consideration to the application, my ministerial colleagues and I will have regard to all relevant factors before any decisions are made. These include the guidelines on re-introductions produced by the IUCN (the World Conservation Union) and the views of ACRE (Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment). The possibility of the Executive conducting a further external consultation cannot be ruled out.

European Working Time Directive

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all categories of NHS staff, including consultants, have to abide by the European Working Time Directive.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The European Working Time Directive applies to all categories of NHS Scotland staff, with the exception of doctors in training. Application of the directive to this group of NHS staff will apply in full by 2009, with the option available to EC member states to extend the deadline by a further three years, if operational circumstances support a case for doing so.

Fisheries

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on fishing zonal management committees with delegated powers and on the European Commission's proposals for regional advisory committees; what consultation it has had with EU member states on these matters and what information it has on whether any of these states advocate such committees and, if so, which ones and what influence such support will have on its position.

Ross Finnie: The UK supports the principle of regional advisory committees, comprising of fishing industry representatives, scientists and other stakeholders. Careful consideration would need to be given to the means by which this can best be done, including the powers available to them. The UK delegation has discussed the creation of regional bodies on many occasions and will continue to do so where appropriate. The position of other member states should become clearer following the publication of the European Commission's proposals on the Common Fisheries Policy shortly.

Fisheries

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there was any scientific evidence to fully justify the closure of the Sprat fisheries in the Firth of Forth.

Ross Finnie: The seasonal closure of the sprat fishery in the inner waters of the Firth of Forth is currently set out in Article 21 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 850/98 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms.

  This closure was originally introduced in the 1970s. It was introduced specifically to protect herring. There was evidence that a very high proportion of juvenile herring were caught in the sprat fishery in that area.

  Herring stocks collapsed during the 1970s and the herring fishery in the North Sea and to the west of Scotland was closed for a number of years.

Fisheries

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the North Atlantic drift has had on cod stocks in the North Sea.

Ross Finnie: The North Atlantic drift is part of the oceanic current system that is responsible for the temperate climate of the UK, and northwestern Europe. It influences the temperature of the North Sea, and is also likely to have an influence on cod stocks in the North Sea. However, the precise mechanisms are not yet understood.

Glasgow Harbour

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-4613 by Lewis Macdonald on 7 February 2002, whether it will outline the consultation arrangements for the Glasgow harbour development.

Ms Margaret Curran: In clearing this outline planning application back to Glasgow City Council on 28 June 2001, the Scottish ministers indicated that they were content for the matter to be dealt with by the local authority. It is now for the council to deal with all planning related matters and any associated consultation processes.

Health

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the progress of independent advocacy programmes in NHS boards.

Malcolm Chisholm: I announced funding for the establishment of an Advocacy Safeguards Agency when I attended the Advocacy 2000's conference in February. This new agency will have a key role in ensuring compliance with the commitment in Our National Health that integrated, independent advocacy is available to all who need it. The agency will advise the Executive on the adequacy and appropriateness of NHS boards' rolling three-year plans for the provision of these services. The agency's assessment of progress on NHS board's implementation will form part of the Performance Assessment Framework, which informs the annual accountability review process.

Health

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any NHS boards have frozen funds available for independent advocacy programmes in the current financial year and, if so, which NHS boards have taken such action.

Malcolm Chisholm: Based on the information contained within NHS boards' advocacy plans, investment in independent advocacy will have increased from £2,722,026 per annum in March 2001 to £4,327,212 per annum in March 2004. This is an increased investment of £1,605,186 per annum, and represents an increase from an average 53p per head of population to an average of 87p.

  The following NHS boards have however not increased funding to independent advocacy for the financial year 2002-03:

  Argyll and Clyde;

  Ayrshire and Arran;

  Borders;

  Dumfries and Galloway;

  Forth Valley;

  Grampian;

  Greater Glasgow, and

  Tayside.

  In Greater Glasgow there was a very significant increase in investment in 2001-02 and this level is to be maintained during 2002-03 and 2003-04. In Ayrshire and Arran, Borders, and Dumfries and Galloway there has been increased investment from the local authority partners.

Health

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to progress independent advocacy programmes in the current year.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our National Health required NHS boards, working with their planning partners, to prepare and implement plans for ensuring independent advocacy is available to all who need it. The Department's Advocacy Facilitator will continue to support boards and their planning partners, in developing and implementing these rolling three-year plans as part of the new Advocacy Safeguards Agency, as referred to in the answer given to question S1W-24832 today.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in respect of the care of children in cases where the parents are separated, whether there are any guidelines obliging NHS trusts to communicate with both parents; if there are not, whether it will consider introducing such guidelines, and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Where parents are separated their respective rights to information about their child's health or treatment depends on whether they have parental rights and responsibilities under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. It may also depend on the child's age, maturity and capacity to consent both to treatment and the disclosure of information about their care. In deciding whether or not to share information with a parent, the child's welfare should be the paramount consideration for NHS boards and trusts.

  Guidelines for health professionals on children's capacity to consent and confidentiality are included in Protecting Children - A Shared Responsibility: guidance for health professionals, issued by the Health Department in 2000. The recently published final report of the Confidentiality and Security Advisory Group for Scotland provides further advice on access to medical and health-related information. The Executive has no current plans to issue guidance on access to information specifically for separated parents.

Hearing Aids

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many audiology departments are complying with the Good Practice Guidance for Adult Hearing Aid Fittings and Services and what action is being taken to assist those departments who are failing to comply with the guidance.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-23845 20 March 2002 and S1W-24850 on 19 April 2002.

Higher Education

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the second stage public consultation paper on the Review of Higher Education.

Ms Wendy Alexander: I can today announce the publication of the second public consultation paper on the Review of Higher Education in Scotland . The first consultation paper was launched in October 2001 and focused mainly on the performance of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. We plan to publish a short report on the responses to that paper in June. The second consultation paper invites comment on the wider higher education context and proposes a set of underlying principles on which higher education should be developed over the next decade. Responses are requested by the end of July. I am placing copies of the consultation paper in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 20840).

Hospitals

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which hospitals still have mixed sex wards, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information requested is not held centrally. However, the Executive has now received reports on progress towards the elimination of mixed sex accommodation from all trusts and island boards. This information is currently being collated, and a copy of the report will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre in early May 2002.

Hospitals

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each NHS board received for the purpose of eliminating mixed sex hospital wards; how much was spent, and whether it will detail how.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive invested £4.8 million towards the elimination of mixed sex accommodation. Trusts and Island Boards have used this money in a variety of different ways to improve buildings and patient clinical areas. Individual allocations are detailed in the following table.

  


Trust/Island Health Board


Resources Awarded




Lomond and Argyll Primary Care


£81,000




Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals


£194,000




Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Primary Care


£600,000




Ayrshire and Arran Primary Care


£24,800




Ayrshire and Arran Acute Hospitals


No allocation




Borders Primary Care


No allocation




Borders General Hospital


No allocation




Dumfries and Galloway Primary Care


£60,000




Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity Hospitals


No allocation




Fife Primary Care


£110,000




Fife Acute Hospitals


£292,000




Forth Valley Primary Care


No allocation




Forth Valley Acute Hospitals


£65,000




Grampian University Hospitals


£559,000




Grampian Primary Care


£500,000.




North Glasgow University Hospitals


£396,200




South Glasgow University Hospitals


£159,500




Greater Glasgow Primary Care


£356,980




Yorkhill


No allocation




Highland Primary Care


£40,000




Highland Acute Hospitals


No allocation




Lanarkshire Primary Care


£120,000




Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals


No allocation




Lothian Primary Care


No allocation




Lothian University Hospitals


£279,100




West Lothian Healthcare


No allocation




Tayside Primary Care


£450,000




Tayside University Hospitals


£185,000




Orkney Health Board


£200,000




Shetland Health Board


£100,000




Western Isles


£125,300




State Hospital


£100,000

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial resources have been allocated to improve private sector housing in the light of Issues in Improving Quality in Private Houses: The first report of the Housing Improvement Task Force .

Iain Gray: Issues in Improving Quality in Private Houses: The first report of the Housing Improvement Task Force makes no specific recommendations for action by the Executive and is intended to inform the second stage of the work of the Housing Improvement Task Force. The task force plans to conclude the second stage of its work, on examination of policy options, during the early months of 2003.

  In launching the first stage report and in anticipation of the need to resource new policy initiatives in this area, I announced that £10 million in 2003-04 would be available for the implementation of the task force's recommendations. The Executive will consider the need for further resource allocations in this area in the light of priorities identified in the expenditure review and the eventual recommendations of the task force itself.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for consideration of the need for revised local authority legislative powers to ensure that buildings are properly maintained as highlighted in Issues in Improving Quality in Private Houses: The first report of the Housing Improvement Task Force .

Iain Gray: The Housing Improvement Task Force has already begun the work of considering the options for revising local authority powers, as part of the second stage of its work which is due for completion in early 2003. The Scottish Executive will give careful consideration to any recommendations made by the task force.

Justice

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reparation cases arising out of alleged exposure to asbestos have now reached a conclusion since the appointment by the Lord President and Lord Justice General of Lord Mackay of Drumadoon to oversee reparation actions and how many of these were (a) settled by the parties and (b) determined by the court.

Mr Jim Wallace: Nineteen of the cases put out for a By Order hearing before Lord Mackay have settled before the hearing actually took place. A further 34 cases set down for hearings of evidence (proofs), on dates since 20 December 2001, have settled. Reparation actions frequently settle without any immediate intimation of such settlements to the court.

  Since Lord Mackay's appointment, only one case has been determined by judicial ruling, following the hearing of evidence at a proof.

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16140 by Colin Boyd QC on 15 June 2001, how many cases were marked "no proceedings" under section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 in 2001-02.

Colin Boyd QC: In the 11 months to the end of February 2002, there were 1,867 cases.

Licensing

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to alter the current practice of local licensing boards in respect of street trader licences whereby a reason does not have to be given for refusing an application for such a licence.

Peter Peacock: Paragraph 17 of Schedule 1 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 requires a licensing authority to provide reasons for refusing an application for a street trader's licence, if requested to do so by relevant parties within 28 days of the date of its decision. An independent task group is currently reviewing the licensing provisions of the 1982 act and I understand that consultation on their emerging findings will take place shortly.

Lip-Reading

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) financial and (b) non-financial assistance it has made available in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency in order to support lip-reading skills since the implementation of its policy on this issue and which organisations or other bodies received any such assistance.

Cathy Jamieson: Scottish Executive support for lip-reading skills is focussed on the training of tutors in lip-reading, rather than support of classes in particular areas of the country. Support for local classes is a matter for local authorities and health boards.

  Grants are made under section 9 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to national voluntary organisations and would therefore not be awarded to local organisations in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency.

  In 2000-01 a pump-priming grant of £20,000 was made to the Scottish Course to Train Tutors in Lip Reading. Grant for 2001-02 was set at £30,000 and for 2002-03 it has been set at £35,000. These funds will contribute towards the training of up to 15 tutors each year.

Lip-Reading

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23429 by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 March 2002, with which providers of lip-reading skills training it consulted prior to the implementation of its policy.

Malcolm Chisholm: As stated in my previous answer, we are unable to provide a substantive reply at this time, as the whole issue of the provision of lip-reading services in Scotland is currently under discussion.

  We have however consulted with the Scottish Course to Training Tutors in Lip-reading.

Local Government

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reform the way in which local authorities are able to access capital.

Mr Andy Kerr: Our proposals for reform of the current capital system are contained within the recently published Local Government Consultative Document - Renewing Local Democracy (The Next Steps) .

  A copy of this publication is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

Local Government Finance

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision it made when calculating this years local government finance settlement to account for inflationary pay awards for local government staff, excluding provisions under the McCrone settlement, and what allocation it intends to make for this in (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2004-05.

Mr Andy Kerr: Allowance is included with the local government settlement totals for 2002-03 and 2003-04 for the costs of national pay awards for police and fire officers and towards general local authority pay and price inflation. These allocations are not identified separately within the settlement totals so as not to influence negotiations. Allocations for 2004-05 have not yet been set.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) males and (b) females regularly take anti-depressants and what the annual cost to the NHS has been in each of the past 10 years.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information about the number of patients for whom prescriptions are written is not collected.

  The cost of anti-depressants* dispensed to patients in the community from 1992-2001# is set out in the following table. The amounts shown do not include dispensing fees paid to community pharmacists or medicines dispensed through the hospital service.

  Ingredient Cost of Anti-Depressant Drugs Dispensed in the Community:

  


1992-93
(£ million)


1993-94
(£ million)


1994-95
(£ million)


1995-96
(£ million)


1996-97
(£ million)


1997-98
(£ million)


1998-99
(£ million)


1999-2000
(£ million)


2000-01
(£ million)




12.27


14.23


17.06


21.51


28.16


35.2


40.07


44.55


44.06




  Notes:

  *Drugs listed in Section 4.3 of the British National Formulary for the treatment of major depression.

  #Data before 1992 is not available.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific action has been or will be taken to tackle depression in children aged 5-14.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has already commissioned the Public Health Institute for Scotland to conduct a national review of child and adolescent mental health services. Their report is due later this year. In addition separate studies of adolescent psychiatry out-patient services, depression among adolescents and adolescent psychosis have been funded. Together, the findings will inform future decisions on the best organisation of services for this important care group.

  A national programme is also being developed to promote mental health and well-being and prevent mental health problems and illnesses, for both children and adults.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been any increase since 1997 in the number of anti-depressant prescriptions; if so, what this increase has been and whether it will detail what action has been or will be taken to tackle such an increase.

Malcolm Chisholm: Around 1.85 million prescriptions for anti-depressants* were dispensed in 1996-97, rising to just under 2.77 million in 2000-01.

  Medical practitioners use their clinical judgement when prescribing for individual patients. They have access to comprehensive guidance on how to prescribe these drugs safely and effectively.

  Note:

  *Drugs listed in Section 4.3 of the British National Formulary for the treatment of major depression

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money has been spent on research into the causes of ME in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000 and (e) 2001.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally. However, project information on non-commercial health related research carried out into ME in the last seven years is available from the National Research Register, a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 17404).

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are employed in the allocation of funding to ME research.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) is largely a response mode funder of research and this role is well known and advertised throughout the healthcare and academic community. Research proposals on ME or on any other health care issue are assessed on the basis of their scientific quality and potential relevance to the health of the Scottish people. Projects must be able to demonstrate "health gain" and potential to improve health care. Such assessments are made by expert peer group and committee review. Potential applicants are encouraged to discuss their research idea with CSO at an early stage, so that they can develop their proposals in a way that most directly addresses Scotland's public health and health services research needs. Comprehensive information and guidance on how to apply for a CSO research grant is available on the CSO website at:

  www.show.scot.nhs.uk/cso/.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what areas have been covered by current research into the causes of ME.

Malcolm Chisholm: Current research on the causes of ME covers a wide range of possible risk factors, including genetic, viral, neurological, psychological, and environmental factors. Details of current publicly funded research into ME is available from the National Research Register, a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre, (Bib. number 17404).

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to include studies into the potential physical and environmental causes of ME in future research projects into the disease.

Malcolm Chisholm: Following the English Chief Medical Officer's working group's report on CFS/ME, published on 11 January this year, the Department of Health in England asked the Medical Research Council (MRC) to draw up a research strategy, taking account of the working group's findings, other recent expert reviews and the views of patients and carers. Once the MRC's work is complete and the future strategic direction of research is clear, the Executive will seek to play a full part in the implementation of that strategy.

  Until that strategy is available, it would not be a sensible use of limited research funds for the Executive to commission large-scale epidemiological studies. Good quality research proposals into other aspects of CFS/ME will, however, be considered by the Chief Scientist Office by the usual peer review process.

NHS Waiting Lists

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24217 by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 April 2002, how many patients were on the waiting list for maxillofacial and oral surgery in (a) Scotland and (b) each NHS board area at (i) 31 December 2000 and (ii) 31 December 1999.

Malcolm Chisholm: The number of patients waiting for hospital admission for in-patient and day-case treatment in the specialty of oral surgery, by NHS board of residence, on 31 December 1999 and 31 December 2000, is given in the following table.

  NHSScotland: Number of Patients Waiting for Hospital Admission for In-patient/Day-case Treatment in the Specialty of Oral Surgery1 on 31 December 1999 and 31 December 2000. by NHS Board of Residence.

  


NHS Board


31 December 1999


31 December 2000




Argyll and Clyde


84


74




Ayrshire and Arran


256


223




Borders


74


57




Dumfries and Galloway


78


109




Fife


397


433




Forth Valley


262


152




Grampian


340


260




Greater Glasgow


224


195




Highland


90


46




Lanarkshire


173


162




Lothian


250


129




Orkney


16


9




Shetland


23


16




Tayside


109


100




Western Isles


1


2




Others/Not Known


7


9




Scotland


2,384


1,976




  Source: ISD Scotland, SMR3.

  Note:

  1. Includes maxillofacial surgery.

NHS Waiting Times

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for (a) urgent and (b) non-urgent cases between being referred by a general practitioner to an opthamology clinic and the first consultation at the clinic, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information in the specific form requested is not available.

  The median waiting times for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in ophthalmology, following referral by a General Medical Practitioner, by NHS board of residence, in the year ended 30 September 2001, is given in the following table.

  NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for a First Out-patient Appointment with a Consultant in Ophthalmology, Following Referral by a General Medical Practitioner, by NHS Board of Residence. Year Ending 30 September 2001P.

  


NHS Board


Median Wait




Argyll and Clyde


53 days




Ayrshire and Arran


61 days




Borders


42 days




Dumfries and Galloway


72 days




Fife


63 days




Forth Valley


62 days




Grampian


83 days




Greater Glasgow


99 days




Highland


72 days




Lanarkshire


92 days




Lothian


44 days




Orkney


75 days




Shetland


65 days




Tayside


39 days




Western Isles


50 days




Scotland


64 days




  Source ISD Scotland, SMR00.

  PProvisional.

Nursing

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurse practitioners currently practise in the NHS and in which areas they practise.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally.

Nursing

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurse consultants currently practise in the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are 13 consultant nurses/midwives currently practising in NHSScotland.

Nursing

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many clinical nurse specialists currently practise in the NHS and in which specialisms they practise.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally.

Nursing

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to increase the number of (a) nurse practitioners, (b) nurse consultants and (c) clinical nurse specialists.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has supported NHS trusts by pump-priming the development of nurse consultant posts and in providing £6 million for a specialist nurse initiative to train an additional 210 specialist nurses.

  I expect NHS trusts to address their current needs and to determine the staffing requirements to meet these.

Police

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24181 by Mr Jim Wallace on 2 April 2002, where information on the expenditure by police forces in respect of overtime for police officers attending court is held.

Mr Jim Wallace: The individual forces hold information on their expenditure in respect of overtime for police officers attending court. It would be open to the member to approach forces directly or through the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, if he wishes to seek to obtain such information.

Prison Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all prisoners are given access to the appropriate care, support, advice, counselling and medication to address their drug and/or alcohol problems while in prison.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  All prisoners are medically assessed on entry to prison, including for drug and alcohol problems. All prisoners who are identified as having drug and/or alcohol problems are offered assessment and needs-based individualised care planning.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the invoices received by the Scottish ministers as required under paragraph 32.3 of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock require VAT to be paid and, if so, at what rate.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Yes, at the current standard rate of 17.5%, but in accordance with section 41(3) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 for qualifying contracted-out services, all VAT paid on invoices from Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited is fully recoverable.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any members of staff from the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and who at the time worked in a prison, attended the risk workshop referred to in section 2.7 of the Financial Review of Scottish Prisons Service Estates Review prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers and, if so, how many and what positions did they hold in the SPS at that time.

Mr Jim Wallace: Personnel covering a range of expertise, including operational, professional, estates, financial and contracts staff participated in those processes.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many members of staff from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) attended the risk workshop referred to in section 2.7 of the Financial Review of Scottish Prisons Service Estates Review prepared by PwC.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Three.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff from PricewaterhouseCoopers were involved in the Financial Review of Scottish Prisons Service Estates Review and how many working days were spent by them on the review.

Mr Jim Wallace: Three were directly involved at various stages of the review, totalling approximately 70 chargeable days.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Prison Service Estates Review submitted to it by the Scottish Prison Service was changed in any material regard as a result of the Financial Review of Scottish Prisons Service Estates Review prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Prison Service Estates Review document page V. refers.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what date ministers first received the Scottish Prison Service Estates Review in what was materially the form in which it was published and on what date was the first version, if different, received.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Estates Review document page V. refers.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which visits to prisons in Scotland and elsewhere were undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers staff in relation to the Financial Review of Scottish Prisons Service Estates Review .

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  PricewaterhouseCoopers staff visited HM Prison Edinburgh.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24285 by Mr Jim Wallace on 8 April 2002, on what date the sale of the buildings of former HM Prison Penninghame was advertised in the Estates Gazette and for what reason.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  10 June 2000. The Estates Gazette was deemed to have the required breadth of circulation.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24286 by Mr Jim Wallace on 8 April 2002, whether any closing date for offers was intimated to persons expressing interest following the advertising for sale of the buildings of HM Prison Penninghame on 24 February 2000 and, if so, what that date was.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Yes. A closing date of 3 May 2000 was set.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current average cost to the Scottish Prison Service is per prisoner of receiving prisoners, broken down by category of cost.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The costs of reception are not separately identified.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost to the Scottish Prison Service of receiving prisoners was in each of the last five financial years.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The costs of reception are not separately identified.

Rural Development

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the minutes of meetings of the Ministerial Committee on Rural Development.

Ross Finnie: As indicated in the Guide to Collective Decision Making , a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 5884) and on the Scottish Executive website, the Executive operates on the basis of collective responsibility and does not disclose details of the internal processes through which decisions have been made.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12572 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 5 March 2001, how many cases were referred to the Procurator Fiscal service by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in (a) 2000-01 and (b) 2001-02 and (i) how many and (ii) what percentage of such cases that were taken to court resulted in a conviction.

Allan Wilson: The numbers of cases involving alleged contravention of environmental protection legislation referred to the Procurator Fiscal Service by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency are set out in the following table:

  


 


2000-01


2001-02




Cases referred to Procurator Fiscal Service


60


72




Cases proceeded court


46


20




Still on-going


3


45




(i) Number led to convictions


37


20




(ii) Percentage led to convictions


62%


28%

Scottish Executive Contracts

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any functions within its responsibility which have been contracted out since May 1999 and how many of these contracts are covered by commercial confidentiality.

Mr Andy Kerr: Since May 1999, the Executive has not contracted out any functions following a formal market testing process. However, the Executive routinely purchases a wide range of services under contract, some of which are to supplement in-house resources.

Scottish Executive Publications

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was, including staff costs, of the preparation of the nine Delivering Transport Improvements leaflets published on 18 March 2002.

Lewis Macdonald: The publication costs of the nine regional Delivering Transport Improvements leaflets, published on 18 March 2002, are as follows:

  


Publication costs


£




Printing


3,143.00




Courier


28.20




Web conversion


298.45




Total


3,469.65




  Specific staff costs relating to the production of the leaflets are not separately identifiable from other work done.

Sex Offenders

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24252 by Jim Wallace on 21 March 2002, which other recommendations from the Expert Panel on Sex Offending's report, Reducing the Risk: Improving the response to sex offending , have been implemented and when it will implement any other of the committee's recommendations that have not been implemented.

Mr Jim Wallace: I plan to publish the Executive's full response to the report of the Expert Panel on Sex Offending next month. In the meantime, we have included in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill provisions to implement the recommendations which will improve the information provided to Scottish courts.

Social Justice

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23159 by Iain Gray on 26 March 2002, why it did not give its position on the appropriateness or potential safety implications of providing accommodation to persons living alone with severe and irreversible vision impairment on the upper floors of tower blocks in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency.

Iain Gray: The question S1W-23159 concerned allocation issues which are the responsibility of individual landlords. Whilst the Scottish Executive may issue general guidance on allocations, allocation policies and processes are monitored by Communities Scotland as part of their regulation of social landlords. Individual allocations are for local authorities to decide.

Sustainable Action Fund

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications were made to the Sustainable Action Fund in 2001-02 and how many such applications were successful.

Ross Finnie: In 2001-02, 70 applications were made to the Sustainable Action Fund for grant funding, of which 23 were successful. Ninety-eight applications were received for grants to be paid in 2002-03. Of these, 11 were successful.

Teachers

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has made available to local authorities to fund the McCrone recommendations for teachers pay in each year for which figures are available.

Peter Peacock: Total Scottish Executive funding for the implementation of A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century was agreed with COSLA at £174 million for 2001-02, £276 million for 2002-03 and £405 million for 2003-04.

Vaccines

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any smallpox vaccine will be stored in Scotland in order to respond to any cases or outbreaks as they arise.

Malcolm Chisholm: In the event of any cases or outbreaks of smallpox in Scotland, vaccination measures would be deployed as appropriate. For security reasons, it is not UK policy to disclose details of vaccine stock or its location.

Vaccines

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the shelf-life is of the smallpox vaccine.

Malcolm Chisholm: The smallpox vaccine is regularly tested to ensure its potency. For security reasons, it is not UK policy to disclose details of vaccine stock.

Waste Management

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information is held on how each local authority deals with discarded refrigerators and freezers.

Ross Finnie: In order to inform its consideration of the fridges issue, on 6 December 2001 the Executive advised local authorities of the volumes of discarded fridges and freezers expected to arise in their area and asked whether their plans for dealing with such waste could cope with those volumes. The response provided the basis for the local authority grant announced in the answer given to question S1W-23475 on 7 March 2002.

  In other respects, each local authority is responsible for ensuring the safe disposal of the wastes it collects and the Executive does not collate information on how authorities have been dealing with discarded fridges and freezers.